An Australian family was forced to prepare for an auction after discovering that a narrow strip of land beside their rural property was not legally theirs, despite generations treating it as part of the farm.
asserted
generations → force → farm
The land in Charleys Forest, near Braidwood in New South Wales, had remained registered to a man who died about 65 years earlier.
asserted
who → remain → man
When unpaid council rates finally brought the forgotten parcel to light, the family faced the unusual prospect of bidding to secure land they had long assumed belonged to them, according to ABC News.
uncertain
they → bring → News
Why did the Australian family have to bid for land they thought they owned
The parcel borders a farm owned by Gina Greentree and her husband and measures about 10 metres wide and 400 metres long.
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parcel → have → Greentree
It has pine trees and a boundary fence, both added by a previous owner who had also assumed the strip formed part of the larger property.
asserted
strip → have → property
According to ABC News in its May 2025 report, the registered owner had been dead for 65 years, leaving the small piece of land sitting unused while generations of neighbouring owners treated it as part of their properties.
uncertain
generations → accord → properties
The situation only became clear when the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council moved to recover unpaid rates.
asserted
Council → become → rates
The land was among 24 properties the council put up for auction after rates had gone unpaid for at least 5 years.
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rates → put → years
The council was seeking to recover almost $20,000 in unpaid rates from the Charleys Forest parcel, even though its estimated value was only about $3,500.
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value → seek → parcel
The lot up for auction that borders Gina Greentree's property.
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that → border → property
An old title became a problem decades later
The discovery exposed how small pieces of rural land can remain overlooked for generations.
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pieces → become → generations
Many of the properties included in the council sale had title deeds dating back to the early 1900s.
asserted
Many → include → 1900s
ABC News reported that the council had known about unpaid rates on the Charleys Forest property as early as 2013.
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council → report → 2013
However, the issue remained unresolved for years.
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issue → remain → years
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council general manager Rebecca Ryan attributed the delay to limited resources and the merger of the former Queanbeyan City and Palerang councils in 2016.
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Ryan → attribute → 2016
The council said the sale was part of an effort to deal with properties that had been missed over generations.
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that → say → generations
As land records and maps were updated, small parcels that had previously gone unnoticed were being identified.
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that → update → ?
For the Greentree family, the discovery came as a surprise because the land had effectively been treated as part of their farm for years.
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land → come → years
Gina Greentree told ABC News that she only learnt the parcel was being sold after seeing a council notice shared on a community Facebook page.
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notice → tell → page
What made the auction more difficult for the neighbours
The family also had concerns about how the land was advertised.
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land → make → concerns
A title search contained photographs showing infrastructure on a neighbouring property, including cattle yards, horse round yards and shared water tanks.
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search → contain → yards
Greentree worried that someone bidding without understanding the exact boundaries could believe those facilities were included with the small parcel.
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facilities → worry → parcel
The council acknowledged there had been confusion over the mapping and said it had met residents to clarify the boundaries.
The auction itself was required because the council could not simply transfer the land privately to the adjoining property owner.
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council → acknowledge → owner
Council officials said public auction was the legally required step before a private sale could take place.
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sale → say → place
That requirement became much more significant when the May auction attracted far more interest than expected.
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auction → become → interest
The auction changed the value of forgotten land parcels
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auction → change → parcels
The later ABC News report, published in June, 2025, showed that the auction produced unexpectedly strong competition.
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auction → publish → competition
Peter Marshall, a forest farmer near Braidwood, had a similar problem involving a small section of land running through his property.
asserted
Marshall → have → property
Marshall had bought his farm in the 1990s and spent years developing it into a truffle and forest farm.
asserted
Marshall → buy → farm
He believed a section of his driveway was included in the purchase.
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section → believe → purchase
Instead, a roughly four-metre-wide strip extending a couple of hundred metres remained registered to a man who had died 65 years earlier.
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who → extend → man
The rates on that small parcel had gone unpaid for decades, building up a debt worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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rates → go → dollars
Marshall only learnt about the ownership issue about a month before the auction, after a neighbour contacted him.
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neighbour → learn → him
Marshall expected the auction to be straightforward because the land was of little practical use to outsiders.
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land → expect → outsiders
The parcel had no building entitlement, water or electricity connection and was effectively landlocked.
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parcel → have → entitlement
His main reason for bidding was to make sure he retained control of the route into his property.
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he → make → property
ABC News reported that 87 people registered to bid across the 24 properties.
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people → report → properties
Marshall eventually paid $19,000 for the section of land along his driveway.
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Marshall → pay → driveway
Other neighbours paid even more for similar parcels, while some could not afford to keep bidding.
uncertain
some → pay → parcels
One 400-square-metre property in Mongarlowe that the council expected might sell for around $500 to $1,000 eventually reached $18,100.
uncertain
council → expect → 18,100
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
